Tricky weather yesterday, but I had an appointment at the lottie. It was mostly grey and drizzly, but not the whole time. There was some sun before the rain. When I went over to my water point to make some tea, I saw this chap. This creature is what we call a “sabelsprinkhaan”. It is a male and probably similar to a katydid. I do not think that he was well, because he let me get very close. He was actually lying noticeably on his side and there was alimentary evidence present. He had apparently been there for some time in the some spot, I supposed that it was the end of its life. I let it be. I peeked through the netting and saw that the the blueberries were again ready for picking. I have now harvested more than seven kilo’s of those little berries. They are doing so well this year, and in the following foto one could be forgiven for thinking that they were looking at a bunch of grapes hanging there. You know, this crazy season has seen some crops and blooms do well and other things not do well at all. The runner beans and French climbing beans; after a rough beginning, have done very well. Witness this trug-full of green delight. The bees are flying like mad, getting the nectar from the last of the fall flowers. New fall flowers are opening every day and some are still to come. I have good hope for them filling their winter stores. This flower garden schedule means that I cannot yet begin the final seasonal clean-up and garden plot mulching just yet. Besides that, the plots with green manure plants are still growing up and must develop a bit further before I take them down.
Hee, hee, hee—oh Mart, you just won’t do. Well you predicted right . We’ve potted in thirty jars of blueberry so far, and there is still more on the little bushes. I hope the larder can handle it all...what a year!!
Deb— my six little bushes are of varying ages, ranging from three to twenty years. One of them I was gifted by an allotment neighbour when she had to stop gardening. I took her a jar of jam made from berries off her old bush. She is recuperating in a care facility presently and was excited to hear about the bush and how it was yielding. Back to the bushes— the bushes are different types and I prune them to keep them healthy and to prolong their lives. I can recall when I got the oldest ones in the “orchard”... the specialist gave me an enormous amount of info and advice about growing and caring for blueberries. He warned me that blueberry bushes would only last ten-twelve years then they would have to be removed. I took that as a challenge to see if I could keep them longer. I was able to hold two of those original six plants by proper and timely pruning. I surprised myself. Ta Loggie., and they are oh so delicious you know.
Sjoerd how do you prune your blueberry bushes? I've heard of a few ways to do it, I have mine in pots and haven't been pruned very often.thanks.
Blueberries grow on year-old wood. This can come from natural growth or from new growth resulting from pruning. —What we first do is look for bushes that have noticeably decreased production. —Then we identify the oldest stems and look distally to see what the quality of twigs are and of course how much berry production they have. **Here is a tip: stems and twigs that have lichens does not mean that they have to be pruned-away. This symbiotic situation can exist on new wood and is not parasitic to the host. Some folks mistakenly think that lichens only exist on dead or dying wood...or even kill stems and twigs. You probably already know this though, right. —Once the old and poorly functioning stem has been identified, prune it away. I prune it to about four or five fingers above ground level. This is perhaps not as low as some would, but I want to be sure there will be a site from which new growth can emerge. —I focus on the older vertical stems and dead, smaller twigs and twiglets. —How much to prune? Just a couple of stems at a time. Sometimes just one. I think “they” say about 1/4th, but I feel that even that is too much at once. —Ah, but when to prune, that is the question. Well I usually prune in february. I have already identified which branches that must go, back in the preceding season when the bushes were bearing fruit (or not bearing fruit). An added bit of info is that you can see buds then and identify flower buds from what will be leaves before you begin clipping. One does not want to prune-away an old branch that is loaded with flower buds...it can wait another year. Fat buds will be a flower. Its just like for prunes, apples and some other fruit-bearing trees. It is a bit long-winded, but I hope you get the idea of how and why I make the choices I make with regard to pruning the blues. **Just be aware with pruning, your production may go down one year. BTW—how is it to grow your blues in containers. I have never done that.
Thanks Sjoerd that is very helpful. In containers have to use a ericeacous compost they do very well but sometimes they die, not just the old ones we have 2 that are a few years old and didn't grow at all this year but they're still alive so hopefully they will be ok next year.water them with rain water. Have trouble with vine weevle in pots so have to get some nematodes for that in spring. My brother said that they are very difficult to grow in pots. Haven't pruned them much so some years we don't get any fruit, this year was like that but there's a lot of new growth for next.
Hiya Loggs, have you tried the John Innis? You know Loggy, if you are keeping the soil acidic and using rain water you are doing the best for your plants that you can do. Container growing is not something that I know a lot about though. Fingers crossed for next year.
Hi Sjoerd and thank you, no i haven't tried john innes. I will get a better harvest next year, got a lot of new growth.
Glad you liked that. I really do hope that it is helpful. But even more, I hope that it is all clear.
